SAODN MD’s Letter: September 2015

The Flourish SAODN Conference last week was an inspiring way to kick-off my journey as SAODN MD. The quality of contributions, spirit of inquiry and earnest desire to contribute to a Flourishing South Africa set this conference apart. Thank you to Dave Snowden, Paul Steenkamp, Mike Truelock, Leola Britton and Louise van Rhyn for their plenary sessions as well as all contributors to concurrent sessions. Also thank you to Donna Glanvill for her design work, Fortune Gamanya for her flawless hosting and to Unam Sipeta for her coordination.

The purpose of this email is to:

Inform you of the SAODN plans going forward and why it is a great time to join the Network.

Invite your ideas and volunteer contribution to the SAODN.

Inspire you to locate your work inside the 2030 Vision for South Africa.

SAODN – What is next?

As an Organisation Development Community, we have seen OD as a profession being increasingly recognised and valued within South Africa. In many ways, OD has come of age over the past 5 to 8 years. The SAODN has supported the OD community with monthly OD Corner events, an annual conference and contributions to the definition of the area of practise through participation in SABPP processes amongst other things. We have built relationships with local and international OD and related communities. That being said, I believe that it is time to change gears in theSAODN. This means that 2016 will be a year of experimentation and rejuvenation for the SAODN.

We have already, thanks to the input of Linda Roos, revitalised the SAODN brand. Next up is the revitalisation of our community events. The experiments that work will stick, and those that don’t will be ditched. What do I mean with experiments? We are planning to host online OD Corners, invite expert groups to advise our members on OD related problems, host topic-streams within the OD Corners, build closer ties with ISOD, ODN and IODA and much more.

We are also gearing up to co-hosting the 2017 Flourish Conference in partnership with the International OD Association’s international conference here in South Africa. In preparation for this, Kyra Wainstein, our current volunteer Learning Portfolio manager who will be stepping into the Partnerships Portfolio for 2016, will be attending the 2015 IODA conference in Portland. We look forward to hearing her feedback during the November OD Café in Johannesburg.

This makes it a great time to join the SAODN and to renew if your membership has expired.

A 12-month membership costs R2200, and if you renew now you will be paying 2015 prices for benefits into 2016.

Make a Contribution

If we are going to experiment, we need your ideas and contributions. The SAODN continues to run on volunteer efforts. In 2016 we will need lots of people volunteering in small ways. If you have an idea, experiment or contribution to make at a micro-scale, let me know what that is please. I am already celebrating the myriads of ways in which practitioners from our community have put up their hands at the conference. Join them!

Please let me know what OD topics, conundrums, challenges and tools you are most interested in hearing about at our community events. Also, let me know what experiments you have in mind that would add value to your SAODN experience going forward. What would excite you and make you want to attend sessions and join the SAODN?

Do you have a tough OD problem in your organisation or in a client organisation? If you are anSAODN member you can invite 4-10 members of the network to come and think about your problem with you, for the price of tea, coffee and refreshments. Just let us know!

We have some management positions to fill in terms of Marketing, Learning and Membership Portfolios for 2016. Are you ready to commit 8 hours of your month to the SAODN? Send me an email with what you hope to contribute to in this regard.

If you want to make smaller difference, let me know what that is as micro-volunteering can be at the level of 1-2 hours a month as well.

2030 Vision for a Flourishing South Africa

Did you know that there is a 2030 Vision for a Flourishing South Africa? Have you read it?

As part of the work of the NDP in 2012, poet Antjie Krog and Archbishop Njogonkulu Ndungane penned an achingly beautiful, boldly ambitious vision for South Africa, known as Vision 2030, as the preamble to South Africa’s National Development Plan (NDP). It paints a picture of a flourishing South Africa, where citizens live and work together in harmony for the common good, where leaders in various sectors lead with humanity and integrity, where we are truly one nation, one community, united in our diversity and celebrating the richness of our heritage.

Having never read the document before Tuesday last week at the Flourish Conference, I was personally blown away by the story of a country that works for all that this document tells. As a result, the OD Practitioners attending the Flourish Conference have mandated me (and really us as the SAODN) to locate the work of OD inside this document, to spread the story told and to take the dialogue about how OD should contribute to a country that works for all forward.

I would love to hear from you after you have read this. What are your thoughts? What stirs in your soul? What call to OD professionals do you hear when you read this? (It is 12 pages of poetry rather than a drab planning document, please read it).

Watch the SAODN space for more on Vision 2030 going forward, but feel free to start spreading the word if you are as moved as I am by this North Star for our country.

I realise that this is a lot to digest in one email, but I am clearly excited and ready to move theSAODN forward with your support and effort behind me. I will be hosting sessions in all regions over the next quarter so please look out for the invitation to come and join me as we continue to move the OD professional forward.